| − | '''Wirt Adams Yerger, Jr.''' (born June 1, 1930)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.mylife.com/wirt-yerger/e306067311948|title=Wirt Yerger|publisher=Mylife.com|accessdate=June 30, 2020}}</ref> | + | '''Wirt Adams Yerger, Jr.''' (born June 1, 1930)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.mylife.com/wirt-yerger/e306067311948|title=Wirt Yerger|publisher=Mylife.com|accessdate=June 30, 2020}}</ref> is a retired [[business]]man from the capital city of [[Jackson]], [[Mississippi]], who is the founding 20th century state chairman of the [[Republican Party]], a position that he filled for the decade from 1956 to 1966. |
| − | is a retired [[business]]man from the capital city of [[Jackson]], [[Mississippi]], who is the founding 20th century state chairman of the [[Republican Party]], a position that he filled for the decade from 1956 to 1966. | + | |
| | + | Yerger's efforts which re-established a strong Mississippi GOP was bolstered by economic mobility, which businessmen and entrepreneurs symbolized. Contrary to the left-wing "[[Southern strategy]]" narrative which alleges that white Southerners became Republicans on the basis of race, the slow trend towards the GOP was largely attributed to economic improvements. |